Cleaning machine



April 15, 1947- c. l-uRscl-i CLEANING MACHINE Filed July 11,;1944

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 15, 1947.

c. mscu CLEANING MACH'INE Filed July 11; 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 2 mmvm.[Ivar/ls 17475611 WTUAIVEY April '15; 1947. 2,418,934

CLEANING MACHINE Filed July 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JNVENTOP titan esflt'mr Patented r. is, 1947 UNl'lED STATE S T PATE CLEANING MACHINECharles Hirsch, South Bend, Ind., assignor to The American FounMishawaka, Ind., a c

tainable with conventional equipment.

The features, advantages and details of the invention will appear morefully from the detailed description which follows, accompanied bydrawings, showing, for purely illustrative pur poses. an embodiment oftheinvention.

Although the novel features, which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, will be particularly pointed out in the claims appendedhereto, the inventionitself, its objects and advantages and the mannerin which it may be carried out will be better understood by referring tothe following description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming a part thereof, in which- Fig. l is an elevational sideview, partly in section, of a combination washing and drying machine,embodying the features of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational front view, partly in section. of the machineshown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational side view of the hot air unit of the machineshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a section of a pervious tumbling or conveyorbelt used in the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

- Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional front view showing in detail themounting of the tumbling belt on head plates ofthe machine.

dry Equipment Company,

orporation of Delaware Application July 11, 1944, Serial No. 5443-14- 9Claims. (01. 51-163) In the drawings, accompanying and forming part ofthis description, the invention is explained by reference to specificstructure, but it will be understood that the details may be modifled invarious respects without departure from.

the broad aspects of the invention.

S milar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout thedrawings and the specification.

, The machine shown in the drawings consists,

in general, of a cleaning unit A, a tank unit 13, and a hot air unit 0.

Referring to Fig. 1, the cleaning unit A as.

prises a front wall Ill, a back wall ll, side walls l2 and It, a topwall i4, and an inclined bottom wall It. The walls include a cleaningchamber I6, which is accessible from the outside to a verticallyslidable door I! and the front wall ill.

The interior of the cleaning chamber i8 containsan endless tumblingbeltorconveyor l8, made of wire mesh so as to permit liquid or a streamof air to pass therethrough.

A suitable form of belt construction is sh in detail in Fig. 4. The beltcomprises a plurality of transversely extending main rods l9 andintermediate rods 20. The wire mesh or webbing of the belt is formed bywire 2| which is wound substantially in the form of a helix, around amain and intermediate rod, respectively, the helix being flattened so asto form a webbing having elongated links as is clearly apparent from thedrawing.

- The main rods extend to and form the bolts I of side chains 22 of themorse type having links 23 arranged in parallel pair and spaced byrollers 24 on the main rods l9.

The tumbling belt is trained around rollers a, 1

2s and 21 and is guided byfhead plates ".ouo

at each side of thebelt so as to form a trough' 29, in which the partsto be cleaned may be placed. The rollers 25, 26 and 21 have shafts 30,3i and 32, respectively. mounted in the side walls and it of thecleaning unit-A.

The head plates 28 are secured within the cleaning unit by bolts 83 andhave secured thereto a guidin edge 3! on which 24 of the conveyor ride.

Referring to the detailed illustration in Fig. 5, the guiding edge 34 issecured to the head plate 28 by bolts 35. the arrangement being suchthat the edge 36 of the head plate extends in, close proximity over thelinks 23- of the side chain and far enough over the webbing of thetumbling belt as to prevent small in the spaces between side chain 22.

the webbing 2| and the The tumbling belt is normally-driven in thedirection of the arrow 31, power being applied to the driven shaft ofthe roller 28 through a chain 38, a variable reduction gear 39, and abelt 40 from a motor ll.

Washing liquid is directed into the trough afrom a series of washingnozzles 12in a spray head 43. Washing liquid is supplied to the sprayhead 43 through a conduit 44 extending from a main supply-valve 45. Abranch conduit ll leads from the conduit 45 to a lower spray head 41,ar-

NT.1 0FFICE the side rollers parts from getting cau ht ranged =below theportion of the tumbling belt which orms' the trough 28. The nozzles 88in the low r spray head 8'! are so directed as to dis- I charge jets ofliquid into the trough 28 through the pervious tumbling belt I8. Thestrength of the jets issued from the lower spray head is adiustable .bya valve 88 in the branch conduit 88.

Washing liquid issued from the spray heads 88 and 81 collects on theinclined-bottom wall I8 and drains through a drain port 88 at thelowermost portion of the cleaning chamber A into the tank 3 below.

The tank 13 comprises front and back walls II and 82, side walls 88 and8.4, respectively, and a The bottom wall 58 tests on a bottom wall 88. vbase 88 and slopes towards a flush and drain port 81.

The interior of the tank B is accessible from the outside through a door88. Tracks 58 of angle iron'extend from the door to the front wall it ofthe tank 3. The tracks 88 support strainer op rates with a tiitablelatch member 88. The latch member 88 is pivotably mounted at 81, in suchmanner that its own weight causes it to tilt clockwise into the positionshown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 if the latch member is free to do soafter retraction of the push bar 88. The latch member has an end surface88 adapted to abut and block the end of the push bar 88 if the latchmember is in the position shown in dotted line. The other end of thelatch member 88 has projections 88 and 88 defining a space "therebetweeninto which the end of a locking member 8| ilts. The locking member M issocured to the sliding door II by bolts 82.

In the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2 the door I! is firmlylocked in its closd position bythe'lo'cking mechanism, the lockingmember baskets 88 and 8I,.releasably interconnected by I a hook member82. The strainer baskets have bottoms of wire mesh and filter thewashing liquid passing through the drain port 88 of the cleaning unit A.

Washing liquid is withdrawn from the tank B through a suction port 88surrounded by a screened container 88 to prevent impurities in thewashing liquid from entering the suction port. A

conduit 88 leads from the suction port 88 to the intake 88 of a pump 81,driven by a motor 88. The pump 81 has a discharge port 88 leading to aconduit 18 connected to the main supply valve 85.

The level of the liquid in the tank B is determined byan overflow troughII extending along the front wall 8| and the side wall 88 and leading toan overflow port" in the back wall 82 of the tank B. l

A conduit I8 leads from the overflow port I! to a drain pipe 14connected to the sewer or another point ofliquid disposal.

The flush and drain port 81 of the tank 3 is connected to a conduit 18containing a drain valve I8, which in normal operation of the machine isclosed. The valve I6 may be opened to drain the washing liquid from thetank and to remove impurities collecting at the bottom 58.

Impurities removed from the parts cleaned in the machine collect inthestrainer basket 88 below the drain port 58 otthe cleaning chamber I8.The strainer basket 88 may be removed from the machine for cleaningpurposes while the machine is in operation. For this purpose, the door58 is opened and the strainer baskets 88 and 8| moved towards the dooruntil the basket 8| assumes the position normally occupied by the basket88. The hook connection 82 between the two baskets 88 and GI is thensevered and the basket 88 removed from the machine for cleaning whilebasket 8i continued to filter the washing liquid.

After the cleaning, the basket 68 is placedback on the track 88, hookedonto the basket 8i, and thebasket assembly is then moved back into theposition shown in Fig. 1.

Themain supply valve 85 is operable from the front of the machinethrough an operating shaft II equipped with a hand lever {18 secured bya nut 18. The operating shaft I1 i supported in a bracket 88 mounted onthe front wall I8 of the cleaning unit A. A hand lever I8 is doublearmed and. has an elongated slot 8I therein, engaging a pin 82 of a Inthese positions the push bar 88 is retracted suiiiciently to recede fromunderneath the tiltable latch member 86 which will then move into theposition shown in dotted lines after opening of the door I'I.

The latch member 88 remains in the tilted position owing to its ownunbalance. In the tilted position it locks the push bar 88 and preventsan opening of the main supply valve 85 as long as the door is open.

when the door is moved towards itsclosed position the locking member 8|strikes the projection 88 of the tiltable latch member 88 and tilts thesame, thereby unblocking the path of the pushbar 88 and permitting freemovement of the valve lever" to the right beyond the center position,

to open the valve 88. As the valve lever I8 is being moved beyond thecenter position, the push bar 88 moves underneath the end of thetiltable latch member 88, thus locking the door in its closed position.

The door I! is provided with brackets 88 near itsupper edge, having apin 84 therein movable in an elongated slot 85 in one end of rods 88.The other end of the rods 86 is pivotally connected at '81 to a chute88. The chute88 is pivotally door is being moved towards its openposition, they mounted at 88 to the front wall I8 of the cleaning unitA.

The door I! may be moved in a vertical direction by a handle I88 securedto the door. As the pins 84 travel in the elongated slots 85 of the rods88 until they reach the, upper end of the slots.

- The rods 88 then move with the door causing the chute 88 totilt andassume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to permit thedischarge ofparts from the trough 88 of the conveyor I8.

push bar 88.. The push'bar 88 isslidably supported on the bracket 88 at881 and andoo- A hot air unit 0 is mounted on one side of the cleaningunit A; The hot air unit consists in general of a housing I8l enclosingan air pump I82 driven by a motor I88. The housing I8'I has an intakeport I88 and an outlet port I85 to which intake and outlet air ducts I88and I81 are connected. Valves I88 and I88 are arranged in the air ductsfor opening and closing the air ducts at will. A by-pasa duct 8 connectsducts I88 and I8! and contains a valve III for opening and closing theby-pass duct.

by a shaft I it and bevel gears I It'for joint opera tion.- The shaft H2extends through the ducts and carries at its rear end a pinion lid whoseteeth mesh with the teeth of a rack I It at one end of a push rod IIBsupported on a roller m. l

The rod I It extends in the back of the machine and is connected to alever II! on an extension ll of the operating shaft ll of the mainsupply valve 55.

The position of the movable members of the valves I 08,- I09 and III andof the main supply valve 45, respectively is such that the air ducts I06and I? are closed and the bypass lid is open while the main supply valveis open, its operating lever 18 being .in the extreme right position.Washing liquid is then supplied to the washing nozzles d2 from the mainsupply valve while drying air may circulate through the by-pass ductIIO. I

When the hand lever I8 is moved into its center position, the mainsupply valveth is closed, the valves I08 and I09 are open admittingdrying air into the cleaning chamber It while the bypass valve III isclosed.

'A movement of the hand lever 18 to the extreme left leaves the liquidsupply valve to closed but causes air valves I08 and I09 to close andbypass valve IiI to open, thus shutting-oil the flow of drying airthrough ducts I 08 and I01 sothat parts may be placed into or removedfrom the cleaning chamber. I

. Air is withdrawn from the cleaning unit A through the intake air ductI06 connected to the top wall It of the cleaning unit A at a flangewhereby all surfaces of the parts become exposed to the action of thewashing liquid.

Washing liquid is admitted to the spray heads t3 and 41 by opening themain supply valve 55. The spray heads 49 and 0'! discharge powerful jetsof washing liquid against the tumbling parts from above and from below.The lower Spr y head 41 serves a triple purpose: It firstly sprays theparts in the trough through the mesh of the tumbling belt I8. Secondly,it cleans the belt as it passes over the spray head and, thirdly, itloosens up the parts in the trough. The strength of the Jets issued fromthe lower spray head tl is adjusted at the valve 39 to obtain a Jetpressure not quite enough to blow the parts out of th trough, butsumcient to prevent the parts from packing too tightly in the trough,thereby facilitating the removal of impurities.

During the washingoperation, the valves tilt and I09 in the air ductllltand I01 remain closed. At the end of the'washing period, the supplyvalve for the washing liquid is closed bymoving the hand lever It intothe center position. The

movement of the hand lever I8 is transmitted to the air valves I08 andI09 through the push rod H2 opening the air valves.

H8. The air withdrawn-from the cleaning unit enters the hot air unit Cand-passes through the pump I 02. Compressed air leaving the pump I02passes through an electric air heater II9, the air supply duct I01 andenters the cleaning unit A at a flange Ill. The air supply duct I01continues inside the cleaning unit and leads to drying nozzles II8arranged in air discharge heads II9.

The housing of the hot air unit is accessible through a door I23, whichis normally tightly .closed. An adjustable air port I 24 is arranged ina 'side wall of the housing IM to permit the Pump I02 to withdrawsupplemental air from the atmosphere to replace air leaving the cleaningunit through leaks in the sliding door'II and at the tiltable chute 98,which'forms in its upwardly tilted position the lower section of thedoor through which the cleaning chamber I9 is accessible.

A control lever I25 in the hot air unit operates electrical controls,not shown in detail, for starting and stopping of. the pump motor I03and for supplying electriccurrent to the air heater II9.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Parts to be cleaned are placed in the trough 29 through the-open door II, 98. The door is then closed causing the locking member 9| near thelower right hand corner of the door to engage the rotatable latch member86 and to move the member into a position in which it will unblock thepush bar 83 of the hand lever I9 which operates the main supply valve45.

The motor 4| is then started to move the tumbling belt I9 in thedirection of the arrow 31,

. parts to climb over the roller 21 and .to slide down Hot air will nowbe supplied to the air-discharge h'eads I2I issuing powerful jets ofdrying air against the parts tumbling in the trough 28 of the tumblingbelt I8.

The drying operation is aided veryefiectively by the tumbling of theparts, causing the parts to be turned over continuously whereby drops ofliquid are shaken off and cavities in the parts are emptied of washingliquid, which during the.

washing operation accumulated therein.

At the end of the drying operation the hand lever I8 is moved to theextreme left causing the flow of drying air to the cleaning chamber tobe interrupted. The door I1 is then opened. The

opening movement of the door causes discharge chute 98 totilt downwardlyas shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The parts resting in the trough 29of the conveyor I9 may then be discharged by reversing the direction ofthe belt, causing the the chute 99 into a, receptacle.

The features and advantages of the invention are numerous.

The treatment of parts of the washing liquid while the parts are beingtumbled on a pervious belt provides a most eflicient and rapid cleaningor the parts. All surfaces of the parts are reached by the washingliquid, and the cleaning of the parts is aided mechanically by thefriction between the tumbling individual parts.

causing parts in the trough 29 to be carried up- The provision of a.lower nozzle aids in the washing operation by loosening up the parts,and

facilitating the removal of impurities. In addition. thejets issued fromthe lower nozzle maintain thetumbling belt clean and prevent impuritiesfrom collecting in the mesh of the conveyor.

The tumbling of the parts during the drying operation greatly reducesthe drying time and makes the machine particularly suitable for thecleaning of parts having cavities inwhich washing liquid tends tocollect.

The provision of a two-section door the lower section of which is in theform of a discharge chute contributes substantially to the efllciencyand economy of the machine making it unnecessary for an operator tohandle the cleaned parts 4 when removing them from the machine.

A further feature of the machine resides in the be employed and othermeans used for mountingor supporting the belt. The trough portion of thebelt may obviously rest on rotatable supporting end disks instead offixed end plates to reduce friction. Such modifications, substitutions,additions and omissions may be made, as will readily occur to personsskilled in the art. Such changes, however, do not involve a departurefrom the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning machine comprising, in combination, an endless perviousbelt trained around rollers, a section of the belt being curved so as toform a tumbling trough in a space of air adapted to receive parts to becleaned; an upper nozzle above the trough portion or the belt adapted todischarge a jet of liquid under pressure into said trough and againstparts therein; a lower nozzle below the trough portion of the beltadapted to discharge a jet of liquid under pressure against theunderside oi said belt and through said belt into said trough, so as toprevent parts from packing tightly in said trough; means below said beltfor collecting liquid passing through said belt, said means including atank; conduits for supplying said nomles with liquid under pressure fromsaid tank; a valve in the conduit leading to said lower nozzle; andmeans for driving saidbelt.

2. A cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a cleaning housinghaving an aperture; cleaning means in said housing; and a two-section'door in said housing for closing said aperture, the. door including anupper section vertically slidable in said housing and a lower sectionpivoted about a substantially horizontal axis and tiltable into a closedposition in which the lower section cooperates with said upper sectionto close said aperture, and an open position in which it forms adownwardly inclined surface for the discharge of articles from saidhousing.

3. A cleaning machine comprising, in combination, a cleaning housinghaving an aperture; cleaning meansin said housing; a two-section in saidhousing for closing said aperture the door including an upper sectionvertically slidable in said housing and a lower channel shaped sectiontiltable about a substantially horizontal axis and tiltable into aclosed position in which the lower section cooperates with said uppersection to close said aperture and an open position in which it forms adownwardly inclined chute adapted to receive articles from said belt fordischarge from said housing; means interconnectlngsaid upper and lowersections for joint movement into an open and a closed position; andmeans for interlocking said door and said supply valve-to prevent adischarge 0! fluid while the door is open.

5. A cleaning machine comprising incombination, a housing; a perviousbelt guided in said housing for movement along a curved path so as toform a tumbling trough in a space oi air ing edge being so curved as toform a trough in adapted to receive in said trou h parts to be cleaned;a nozzle for discharging a jet oi liquid into said trough from above; anozzle for dis-- charginga jet or liquid into said trough through saidbelt irom underneath; means for supplying a liquid to said nozzles:means below said belt for collecting liquid passing through saidpervlous belt; and means for driving said belt.

6. A cleaning machine comprising in combination,a housing; a pair ofheadplates in said housing; a pervious movable belt guided to: movementalong a guiding edge of said headplates, the guidpervious belt mountedin said housing for movement along a curved part so as .to form a troughadapted to receive in said trough parts to becleaned; a nozzle in saidhousing for discharging a jet of liquid into said trough: a nozzle insaid housing for discharging a jet of air into said door in said housingfor closingsaid aperture,

the door including an upper 1 section vertically slidable in saidhousing and a lower channel shaped section pivoted about a substantiallyhorizontal axis and tiltable into a closed position in which the lowersection cooperates with said upper section to close said aperture, andan open position in which it forms a downwardly inclined chute for thedischarge of articles from said housing; and means for operativelyconnecting said trough; means below said belt for collecting liquidpassing through said belt; an air duct for withdrawing air from saidhousing. said duct leading duct; air propelling means in said duct forpropelling air through said duct and said heating to said air nozzle;air heating means in said means; and means for interrupting the iiow ofliquid to said air nozzle.

8. A combination washing and drying machine comprising in combination, ahousing; a pervious belt mounted in said housing for movement along acurved part so as to form a. trough adapted to receive in said troughparts to be cleaned; a

nozzle in said-housing fordischarging a jet of means below said belt forcollecting liquid passing through said belt; and means for selectivelysupplying air under pressure to said air nozzle respectively,

9. A combination washing and drying machine. comprising in combination,a housing; a prvious belt mounted in said housing for movement along acurved path so as to form a trough adapted to receive in said troughparts to be cleaned;

. a nozzle in said housing for discharging a jet of liquid into saidtrough; a nozzle in said housing ior discharging a Jet of air into saidtrough; means below said belt-for collecting liquid passing through saidbelt; and air heating and propelling unit adjacent said housing, saidunit communicating with the interior of said housing to withdraw airtherefrom; a. duct leading from said unit to said air nozzle; and meansfor selectively controlling the discharge of liquid and of air throughthe said liquid and air nozzles, respectively, CHARLES HIRSCH.

REFERENCES 011 Km The following references are oi record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Wiener Feb. 23, 1932

